Rangers' Keone Kela: Avoids arbitration

by
RotoWire Staff

Jan 12, 2018
• 1 min read
UpdateJan 12, 2018, 7:08pm

Kela agreed to a one-year, $1.2 million deal with the Rangers on Friday, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

This was his first year as an arbitration-eligible player. Kela missed chunks of time throughout the 2017 season due to shoulder issues, but was able to excel when healthy, posting a 2.79 ERA and 0.91 WHIP over 38.2 innings of relief work. He added 51 strikeouts and displayed a knack for getting opposing batters to miss while limiting the amount of free passes as well. Heading into this season, Kela could win the ninth-inning role, but may wind up as Alex Claudio's setup man to begin the year.